Gov. Christie’s Bad Deal With Exxon

New Jersey has been fighting for years to get the Exxon Mobil Corporation to clean up and pay up after turning more than 1,500 acres of marshes and waterways into toxic wastelands. But, just as a State Superior Court judge was about to rule on the case earlier this year, Gov. Chris Christie’s administration suddenly and unexpectedly agreed to settle with Exxon for 3 cents on the dollar. The agreement, which became public on Monday, allows Exxon to escape with a payment of $225 million, far less than the estimated $8.9 billion the state had originally asked for a decade ago.

There will be no public hearing for this deal, which was negotiated in secret by the state. The public can send comments to New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection until June 5. (Exxon Mobil Bayway Settlement should be in the subject line, with comments going to: ExxonMobilBaywaySettlement@dep.nj.gov).

Anyone who wants cleaner air and water in New Jersey should urge Mr. Christie to reject this obvious sellout. If enough people raise questions, the State Department of Environmental Protection might well have second thoughts. If it does not, it will be up to Judge Michael Hogan to reject this insufficient settlement and demand more from Exxon.

There are plenty of reasons for a better solution. State courts have already found Exxon liable for contaminating a vast area of marshlands and waterways, including “sludge lagoons” and a swamp that is “now mostly covered with a tar” of debris and petroleum products. A bigger settlement should allow for a much more comprehensive cleanup in these and other sites elsewhere in the state. Yet the agreement negotiated by Mr. Christie refers only to “alleged” pollution by Exxon and does not accuse the company of “any wrongdoing or liability.”

Mr. Christie says the $225 million to satisfy the 2004 lawsuit is “on top of” Exxon’s obligation under a 1991 consent order requiring Exxon to clean up several refinery sites. Exxon has already spent $260 million on remediation of these sites — which officials define as capping or controlling pollution, not full restoration — and will spend even more. The lawsuit, however, covered different issues and was aimed not just at cleanup but recovery for damages to the state’s natural resources and for the fact that the public was deprived of their use.

The Christie administration says its settlement is a satisfactory ending to a long and possibly unsuccessful battle with Exxon over those damages. But many environmentalists and some state politicians beg to differ, and are fighting back, pointing out that $225 million is hardly sufficient compensation for damages to both the public and the natural world. The New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club labeled this deal “the biggest sellout of taxpayer money in state history.” Democratic state senators are threatening to sue. Now the public needs to get involved.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A28 of the New York edition with the headline: Gov. Christie’s Bad Deal With Exxon. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe